CHANGSHA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Eight countries have established their inaugural Confucius Institutes or classrooms in 2019, according to an international conference.

These countries are Haiti, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the Maldives and Saudi Arabia, according to the 2019 International Chinese Language Education Conference that ended Tuesday in central China's Hunan Province.

With these countries included, a total of 162 countries and regions have established 550 Confucius Institutes and 1,172 Confucius classrooms.

In 2019, 27 new Confucius Institutes and 66 Confucius classrooms have been set up.

These language programs serve as a bridge for deeper understanding, communication and cooperation around the world, said Chinese Vice Minister of Education Tian Xuejun at the closing ceremony of the conference.